Mad Cow has been confirmed in Washington state. For all the talk through the years of the economic impact of terrorism, this one nitwit out in Washington will probably do more damage to a $200 billion industry than Al-Qaeda could ever hope to do. The economic recovery just got flushed down the toilet.

Originally posted by redsoxnationMad Cow has been confirmed in Washington state. For all the talk through the years of the economic impact of terrorism, this one nitwit out in Washington will probably do more damage to a $200 billion industry than Al-Qaeda could ever hope to do. The economic recovery just got flushed down the toilet.

Redsox, he was just doing what many dairy farmers and beef producers do, taking an animal that wasn't good anymore and sending her off to be hamburger. He's not a nitwit.

This was going to happen sooner or later. No reported cases of BSE didn't mean it wasn't here. Takes a while for BSE to evidence itself and most beef is slaughtered before it becomes evident.

The damage it does is up to you the American consumer. If you don't eat spinal cords and brains (although are ancestors used to eat alot of brains) your risk is about nonexistant. We export less than 10% of the beef we raise so if you all don't panic, life is not great but okay for beef and feed producers.

Our animal economist if Ag Econ said that happening now during the holidays was a good thing as the commodity exchanges are on a reduced schedule and with the holidays, everyone has a chance to digest this (no pun intended) and hopefully minimize the panic impact on the economy.

Remember that only 140 or so people have contracted the vKJ disease in the last decade. E-coli and other food borne pathogens are much more dangerous.

Originally posted by rikidozanRumor has it that it is in Mt. Airy, MD now...

I didn't see that on TV this morning, nor was it in the Sun. I am assuming this is some cruel joke(which would be appropriate)

Sadly it's not a joke. A little birdy could lose a job at the Dept of Ag. in beltsville, MD, but the birdy told me that there was a confirmed case at midnight 12/24.

That washington cow was slaughtered in jan, so this case may take a year. My birdy told me about this, and my birdy has no reason to lie. My birdy has to work overtime now to track down all the relevant information about the cow and the farm. I think they're going to announce it on Monday?

Hopefully, this won't be as bad as the May cattle crisis that basically spelunked Alberta's agricultural economy for a few months this year. One cow tests positive, and every cow exposed to the cow probably'll get tested. This will be a huge pain in the ass...and quite possibly (and quite ironically) might help Alberta's economy recover.

Am I the only one who is not surprised by these turn of events? It won't be long before the other countries place a ban on both country's beef, just for the heck of it. And all over *one* bad, mad cow.

A Canadian perspective: We had Mad Cow up here. The States banned the beef early on as a precaution. The Mad Cow crisis got cleared up. A few countries took back our beef...except for the US (as a precaution). Now, the States finally welcome our beef back...and they have Mad Cow. The cattle industry's all "Sweet! Now they'll need our beef!" since the thought is that everybody that banned our beef will ban the American beef. And now the US says that their bad beef is actually bad Canadian beef...which freaks out the cattle industry because they already had ONE scare, and another would basically f*** 'em.

It's natural for the government to blame somebody else, even if it IS our fault.

Of course Blame Canada, you just like the Blackout this summer when NYC Mayor and NY Governor said before the fuckin lights even came on that it was because of Canada. What? Ohio plant problem What?... Or blaming Canada for terrorists entering North America. What? 9/11 terrorist entered via the U.S and lived and trained in the U.S.A What? What?

No offense personally Yanks, but F*ck your government and their pointing fingers tactics and can the ever so bragging most powerful nation in the world take some god damn responsibility for once.

Originally posted by scabbyI think blaming Canada for anything entering through US customs is a tad asinine.

I must have missed something. They have evidently determined where the cow came from. It happened to be Canada. It happened. I don't think I have heard any official "blame" Canada.

The blame is implied. Nobody needs to come out and say "we blame Canada" in order for the burden of responsibility to be passed. The instant it was reported that the diseased cow is believed to have come from Alberta, I would be willing to wager that Canada became responsible in the eyes of many Americans. Believing that American officials didn't expect and probably hope for this outcome is naive.

Originally posted by scabbyI think blaming Canada for anything entering through US customs is a tad asinine.

I must have missed something. They have evidently determined where the cow came from. It happened to be Canada. It happened. I don't think I have heard any official "blame" Canada.

The blame is implied. Nobody needs to come out and say "we blame Canada" in order for the burden of responsibility to be passed. The instant it was reported that the diseased cow is believed to have come from Alberta, I would be willing to wager that Canada became responsible in the eyes of many Americans. Believing that American officials didn't expect and probably hope for this outcome is naive.

I thought Kansans had a complex. Some Americans may but that doesn't mean America will. The really good news is that the animal was over 6 years old. That means it was born before the bans on feeding protein from offal. This is good news for both countries.

Originally posted by scabbyI think blaming Canada for anything entering through US customs is a tad asinine.

I must have missed something. They have evidently determined where the cow came from. It happened to be Canada. It happened. I don't think I have heard any official "blame" Canada.

The blame is implied. Nobody needs to come out and say "we blame Canada" in order for the burden of responsibility to be passed. The instant it was reported that the diseased cow is believed to have come from Alberta, I would be willing to wager that Canada became responsible in the eyes of many Americans. Believing that American officials didn't expect and probably hope for this outcome is naive.

I thought Kansans had a complex. Some Americans may but that doesn't mean America will. The really good news is that the animal was over 6 years old. That means it was born before the bans on feeding protein from offal. This is good news for both countries.

Not neccessarily, but let's be honest, many, many Americans will.

come on, passing the blame is practically our mantra!

(i.e.Unruley kids? Must be TV/Movies!)

But if American media doesn't explain the Grandfather Clause on the feeding laws, then very few people will be the wiser.

Let's don't act all innocent now that a Canadian is calling our bluff.

Strangely enough I happened to be back home in Central Washington (Sunnyside, just a few miles north of Mabton and the Sunny Dene Ranch) having a drink at my parents bar (a hang out for many dairy farmers and ranchers) last week when the mad cow story broke. It was a very strange and surreal experience watching so many men glued to CNN for news updates and spreading second and third hand information. Even stranger was the finger pointing and accusations being made before the facts of the situation became clear. You could see a lot of fear in everyone's eyes at the uncertainty that the future holds since so much of the Sunnyside economy revolves around dairy farming. It is strange to think that the town I grew up in could easily become a ghost town in just a few years. My Dad has made a nice career out of building farming equipment almost exclusively for feed lots. Well, maybe he'll be out of a job and finally have a decent excuse to move away from there and I'll never have to endure the long bus ride there for the holidays.